Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell singled out Thibault Klidje's opening goal as 'unbelievable' after Hibernian secured a 3-0 Premier Sports Cup quarter-final win. The victory, sealed with goals from Klidje, Adam Mayor and Ante Suto before half-time, books Hibs a semi-final spot over the Halloween weekend.
Klidje headed Hibs in front after just seven minutes, a moment Kettlewell described as exceptional. The County boss offered no argument about the penalty awarded against his defender Akil Wright for a foul on Jason Kerr, which Mayor converted in the 14th minute. Suto added the third six minutes before the break.
Kettlewell's frank assessment
Kettlewell was blunt in his post-match analysis, telling reporters his side had contributed to their own downfall. "We shot ourselves in the foot," he said. "We know they have got good players who don't need much encouragement."
He specifically addressed the penalty incident. "The penalty was naïve from us, big Akil Wright doesn't often get caught in those positions," Kettlewell admitted. The manager expressed frustration, believing his team is better than their performance showed, particularly with the third goal going against their defensive principles.
Cup progress amid league form
The cup success provides a positive shift for David Gray's side, who had suffered consecutive Premiership defeats to Hearts and St Johnstone prior to this match. Hibernian currently sit eighth in the Premiership with six points from five games, having scored seven and conceded nine. Their next league assignment is a home match against Kilmarnock on Tuesday.
With the cup semi-final secured, attention now turns to maintaining momentum. The squad will be without the sidelined Rocky Bushiri and Jordan Obita for the upcoming fixtures. Fans can check the full schedule, including the key semi-final date, on the club's fixtures page and review the current standings.
Hibernian's next match is at home to St Mirren on 30 December, with the visitors currently fourth in the table.
